Spinner type of game playing apparatus



Sept 22 1954' G; Dl cARLo 3,149,844

SPINNER TYPE OF GAME PLAYING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 30, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 ,fa i 2'/ PA. oEl. VA NN f7 wy/Nj my Sept- 22 1954 G. DI CARLO 3,149,844

SPINNER TYPE `OP GAME PLAYING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 30, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR. giuseppe 0i Carlo ,n ORN/55S SePt- 22 1964 G. DI CARLO 3,149,844

SPINNER TYPE 0F GAME PLAYING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 30. 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 DEL 4W/IPE 1N VEN TOR. z'use/a/QQ 0i farlo United States Patent O 3,149,844 SPINNER TYPE F GAME PLAYING APPARATUS Giuseppe Di Carlo, 2356 W. Grand Ave., Chicago, Ill. Filed Jan. 30, 1961, Ser. No. 85,742 Claims. (Cl. 273-141) This invention relates to improvements in games and more particularly relates to an improved form of educational game and apparatus for playing the same.

A principal object of the invention is to provide a new and improved game of the educational type together with a novel form of apparatus for playing the game.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved form of educational game designed for children to aid the child to gain a knowledge of the states of the union.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a novel form of apparatus for playing educational games in which a central globe is rotatably driven and has magnetic means on the face thereof and a series of balls are spaced about the globe and have keeper means thereon adapted to be attracted by the magnetic means and to designate the winner of a play of the game.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a novel form of apparatus for playing games and the like, in which a central globe is mounted for rotational movement with an associated shaft and for slidable movement along said shaft from an elevated position at the start of the play of the game into a lowermost position for carrying out the play of the game and has at least one magnet on the face thereof and in which a series of balls are mounted for rotation about the globe and have magnetizable means thereon spaced about the periphery thereof for registry with the magnets on the face of the globe, in which the globe and balls are rotatably driven at the start of the play of the game, and in which the attraction of one magnetizable means by a magnet on the globe, upon the termination of rotation of the globe, designates a termination of one play of the game.

These and other objects of the invention will appear from time to time as the following specification proceeds and with reference to` the accompanying drawings where- FIGURE 1 is a view in side elevation of an apparatus for playing a game in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan View of the apparatus shown in FIGURE 1 with certain parts broken away in order to show the drive mechanism for the apparatus;

FIGURE 3 is a partial fragmentary vertical sectional view taken through the central shaft and globe;

FIGURE 4 is a view of a playing piece used in carrying out the play of the game; and

FIGURE 5 is a detailed view of the toggles for holding the globe in an elevated position.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, I have shown in FIGURE 1 a frame 10 including a base 11 and a table top 12 spaced thereabove. The base 11 is mounted on legs in the form of rods 13 extending therethrough and forming supports for the table top 12 at their upper ends. The rods 13 may be threaded and the base 11 may be held in spaced relation with respect thereto as by nuts 15 threaded thereon and engaging opposite sides of said base. In a similar manner, the rods 13 extend through the table top 12 and said table top is retained to said rods, as by nuts 16 threaded thereon and engaging the upper and lower faces of said table top.

The table top 12 has a boss 17 mounted thereon at the center thereof, having an anti-friction thrust bearing 19 carried thereby, abutted at its upper end by a tubu- 3,149,844 Patented Sept. 22, 1964;

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lar shaft 20 mounted on a shaft 21 extending along said tubular shaft for a portion of the length thereof and journalled in the bearing 19 and extending downwardly through the boss 17 and table top 12. The shaft 21 may be welded or otherwise secured to a spur gear 23 spaced beneath the table top 12 and driven by a pinion 24 on the upper end of a shaft 25 of a motor 26. The motor 26 may be a speed reduced type of motor having a speed reducer (no-t shown) contained within the housing for the motor, for driving the shaft 25 from the motor. The motor 26 is suitably mounted on the shelf or base 11 and projects upwardly therefrom. As shown in FIGURE 1, a battery 27 is mounted on the base 11 and forms a source of power for the motor 26. It should be understood, however, that the motor 26 may be of high enough voltage to be energized through the current of a house lighting circuit.

A switch 29 on the base 11 is provided to start and stop the motor 26 to start and stop the play of the game.

The tubular shaft 20 has a sleeve 30 slidably mounted thereon and rotatably driven thereby by the yfriction between said tubular shaft and said sleeve. The sleeve 30 extends through the center of a globe 31 and forms a mounting for said globe.

The sleeve 30 and globe 31 are held in an upwardly extended position on the tubular shaft 20 by toggles 33 transversely pivoted intermediate their ends on pivot pins 34. The toggles 33 are of a conventional construction, loosely mounted on a vertical threaded rod 36, and are supported on a wing nut 35 threaded on said threaded rod 36. The threaded rod 36 extends vertically along the cented of the tubular shaft 20. The toggles 33 extend through diametrically opposed openings 34 in the tubular shaft 20 and are cammed into retracted relation with respect to said tubular shaft by the upper walls of the openings 34, as the threaded rod 36 is moved upwardly with respect to said openings. The threaded rod 36 has a slotted head 37 at its upper end to accommodate the adjustment of the toggles along said threaded rod to register with the openings 34 and move therethrough by gravity to retain the globe 31 in its elevated position upon lowering movement of the threaded rod 36. Said threaded rod extends through a collar 39 mounted within the tubular shaft 20 and suitably secured thereto, downwardly along the center of said tubular shaft through an opening 38 extending axially along the shaft 21 downwardly beneath the gear 23 and fits within a cup 48 mounted on the inner end of a lever 40. The lever 40 extends between legs 41 of a bracket 43 mounted on the base 11 and projecting upwardly therefrom. A machine screw 44 extending thro-ugh the legs 41 provides a pivotal mounting for the lever 40 on the bracket 43, intermediate the ends of said lever. Downward pressure on the free end of the lever 40 will effect upward movement of the threaded rod 36 and cam the toggles 33 to retract said toggles within the tubular shaft 20 and release the tube 30 and accommodate said tube and the globe 31 to drop along the tubular shaft 20. The globe 31 may be moved to the upwardly extended position shown in FIGURE 3 by hand.

The globe 31 is shown in FIGURE 3 as having two magnets 45 mounted therein and extending from the periphery thereof. The magnets 45 are horseshoe types of magnets and serve a purpose which will hereinafter more clearly appear as the play of the game is described. A generally cylindrical plug 46 having a closed upper end portion tits within the top of the tubular shaft 29 into engagement with the collar 39. The plug 46, as shown in FIGURES 1 and 3, has a replica of the Statue of Liberty mounted thereon and projecting upwardly therefrom. The Statue of Liberty is concealed by the ball 31 when in its upwardly extended position shown in FIG. 3 and is revealed as the toggles 33 are retractibly moved within the tubular shaft 20 and the globe 31 drops downwardly along said tubular shaft.

Extending about the globe 3l are a series of parallel vertically extending shafts Si? having indicator members 5l freely mounted thereon. Each vertical shaft Si) is rotatably journalled within a sleeve 53 projecting upwardly from the top of the table l2 and suitably secured thereto, and is suitably retained from axial movement with respect to said sleeve. A separate gear 55 is mounted on the lower end of each vertical shaft 5t). The gears 55' mesh with and are driven `from the gear 23 to effect rotation of all of the vertical shafts 5b together.

The indicating members 5l mounted on and projecting upwardly from the shafts 50 are each shown as comprising a ball 55 and a cluster of balls 57 connected to the ball 56 and spaced therebeneath and merging into the large diameter end of a generally frusto-conical base 59 mounted on the shaft Sil at its small diameter end. The ball 56 has a plurality of metal inserts eil spaced about the periphery thereof and registering with the magnet 45 when the globe 3l is in its lowermost playing position shown in FIGURES l and 2. One metal insert e@ designates a stopping position of the ball S6 while the other metal inserts correspond to the stopping positions of the individual balls of the cluster of balls 57 When the globe 3l is in its lowermost playing position shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, and the motor 26 is energized to drive the gear 23 and the gears S5 meshing therewith, the frictional resistance between the tubular shaft Ztl and sleeve 3i) and the indicator members 5l and shafts 50 will rotatably drive the globe 31 and indicator members 5l. The indicator members 5l are, however, rather loosely mounted on the shafts Si) and rotate at random, while the globe 3l is positively driven by the tubular shaft 2l). When the motor 26 is deenergized by operation of the switch 29, rotation of the globe 31 and indicator members 5I will stop. Either or both magnets i5 will then attract one of the inserts 60 and stop rotation of the associated indicator member 51 in a fixed position. This will indicate the termination of a play of the game and the ball 56 or one of the balls of the cluster n balls 57 corresponding to an insert d0 attracted by the magnet 45, will designate a winner of one play of the game.

The globe 31 may have a map of the world thereon with the names of the largest cities in the world and the names of the oceans printed thereon.

The ten balls 56 may have the names of the rst ten colonies of the original thirteen colonies of the union printed thereon. These names may be printed in red. The names of the other three colonies of the original thirteen colonies may be printed in red on certain balls of the clusters of balls 57. The names of the remaining 37 states may be printed in black on the remaining balls of the clusters of balls.

The playing pieces as shown in FIGURE 4 are plastic disks or chips, each disk having the name of a state printed thereon.

In playing the game, each player is given a selected number of playing pieces. These may be placed in selected compartments e@ of a tray 61 spaced beneath and extending outwardly of and about the table 12. Each player then selects a playing piece having the name of a selected state thereon and sets this playing piece aside.

The globe 3l being in an elevated position on the tubular shaft 20, the switch 29 is turned on to energize the motor 26 and rotatably drive the globe 31 and indicator members 51. One player is placed in charge of the switch 29 and lever 4G, controlling lowering movement of the globe 31.

After the globe 3l and indicator members Sl have been placed into rotation, any player may call out liberty. At this time, the free end of the lever il is depressed, raising the threaded shaft 36 and retracting the holding toggles within the tubular shaft 20. The globe 3l will then drop along the tubular shaft 2i) and the magnets 45 projecting 'therefrom will be in alignment with the inserts 60. The globe 31 and indicator members 5l then continue to rotate until the operator turns the switch 29 to an off position. This may be done at any time at the selection of the operator. The globe 3l will then stop and either one or both of the magnets 45 may attract an insert 60, stopping one or both indicators. This will designate the winning state or states and the player or players who have selected the winning state or states will win one play of the game.

If only one state is attracted by a magnet on the globe 31, the winning player will be given a set number of pla ing pieces by each other player. The number of playing pieces may be selected by the player or players of the game at the beginning of a play. If two states are attracted by the magnets 45, the playing pieces may be divided between the two winning players. If neither magnet attracts an insert 60, the play should be repeated.

The game may continue until one player has obtained 50 playing pieces having each state of the union printed thereon.

While I have herein shown and described one form in which my invention may be embodied, it should be understood that various modifications and variations in the invention may be attained without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts thereof.

I claim as my invention:

l. In an apparatus for playing games, a frame including a table, a central shaft extending upwardly of said table, a globe slidably mounted on said central shaft and rotatably driven thereby, means mounted within said central shaft and extensible from the periphery thereof for holding said globe in an elevated position on said central shaft, a lever accessible by a player of the game for retractibly moving said holding means within said central shaft and releasing said globe to drop to a lowermost position along said central shaft, a series of parallel shafts spaced about said central shaft, an indicating member freely mounted on each parallel shaft and rotatably driven thereby at random, means for driving said central and parallel shafts, and magnet and keeper means on said globe and indicating members in the same general plane when said globe is in a lowermost position along said central shaft and bringing one of said indicating members to rest upon the dropping of said globe and the stopping of rotation thereof and thereby designating the results of a play of the game.

2. In an apparatus for playing games, a frame including a table, a central shaft extending upwardly of said table, a globe slidably mounted on said shaft and rotatably driven thereby and having at least one magnet projecting from the surface thereof, holding toggles pivotally mounted within said central shaft and extensible therefrom for holding said globe in an elevated position with respect to said shaft and retractible within said shaft for accommodating said globe to drop along said central shaft, a lever accessible to a player of the game for retractibly moving said holding toggles within said shaft and accommodating said globe to drop along said shaft at the selection of a player of the game, a series of parallel shafts spaced about said central shaft, a motor for driving said central shaft and parallel shafts, a switch accessible to a player of the game for energizing and deenergizing said motor, an indicating member freely mounted on each parallel shaft, each indicating member having at least one insert therein of magnetizable material in the plane of said magnet, upon the dropping of said globe to a lowermost position along said central shaft.

3. In an apparatus for playing games, a frame including a table, a central shaft extending upwardly of said table, a globe slidably mounted on said shaft and rotatably driven thereby, said globe having atleast one magnet thereon projecting from the periphery thereof, a pair of toggle holding members pivotally mounted Within said central shaft for extensible and retractible movement with respect to the periphery thereof, to hold said globe in an elevated position on said shaft and release said globe to drop downwardly along said shaft, a lever for retractibly moving said toggle holding members with respect to said shaft to release said globe to drop along said shaft, a series of parallel shafts spaced about said globe equal distances from the center of rotation of said globe, an indicating member freely mounted on each parallel shaft, a motor, means driven by said motor for rotatably driving said central and said parallel shafts, each indicating member having the names of a plurality of states thereon, and a series of metal inserts on said indicating member corresponding to the names of the states on said indicatingy member, and in the plane of said magnet when said globe is in its lowermost position along said central shaft, said metal inserts being attracted by said magnet on said globe and the attracted metal insert designating the termination of a play of the game.

4. In an apparatus for playing games, a frame including a table, a central hollow shaft extending upwardly of said table, a globe slidably mounted on said shaft and rotatably driven thereby, a plurality of magnets carried by said globe and projecting from the face thereof, said hollow shaft having two aligned diametrically opposed openings therein opening to the hollow interior of said shaft, a pair of pivotally connected toggle holding members within said shaft, means supporting said holding members within said shaft for registry with openings therein and for extensibly and retractibly moving said holding members with respect to said openings, to hold said globe in an elevated position on said shaft and to release said globe to drop downwardly therealong, a lever operated by a player of the game controlling extensible and retractible movement of said toggle holding members, a motor, a geared drive connection from said motor to said hollow shaft and globe, a switch operated by a player of the game controlling the energization and deenergization of said motor, a series of parallel shafts spaced about said hollow shaft and extending upwardly of said table, gear means driving said parallel shafts from said geared drive connection, an indicating member freely mounted on each parallel shaft, said indicating members being rotated at random upon rotation of said parallel shafts, each indicating member including a ball designating a state of the union and a cluster of balls therebeneath, each designating certain other states of the union, a metal insert in said ball corresponding to the state of the union designated thereon and other metal inserts spaced about said ball corresponding to the states of the union designated by the balls in said cluster of balls, said inserts being in alignment with said magnets projecting from said globe upon the dropping of said globe along said hollow shaft, and certain of said metal inserts being adapted to be attracted by said magnets upon the stopping of rotation of said globe to designate the termination of a play of the game.

5. A game comprising a rotatable globe held in an elevated position at the start of the play of the game and releasable to a lowermost position during the play of the game, a series of indicator members spaced about said globe, each being freely rotatable about a vertical axis and each having the names of a plurality of states of the union thereon and all of said indicator members designating the fifty states of the union, a plurality of playing pieces, each having the name of a state of the union thereon, and selectable to designate a state of the union selected by a player of the game, means for rotatably driving said globe and indicator members, means for releasing said globe to drop into a lowermost position during the play of the game in the region of said indicator members, a plurality of permanent magnets on said globe projecting from the face thereof, a plurality of keeper members on said indicator members, each corresponding to a state of the union and being in horizontal alignment with said permanent magnets when said globe is in a lowermost position during the play of the game, means for stopping rotation of said globe, and said permanent magnets attracting one of said keeper members upon the stopping of rotation of said globe and being adapted to stop at least one indicator member and thereby designate a winning state of the union in accordance with the selection of a playing piece by a player of the game.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,561,402 Bernwall Nov. 10, 1925 2,175,892 Greene Oct. 10, 1939y 2,719,718 Rothgery Oct. 4, 1955 

1. IN AN APPARATUS FOR PLAYING GAMES, A FRAME INCLUDING A TABLE, A CENTRAL SHAFT EXTENDING UPWARDLY OF SAID TABLE, A GLOBE SLIDABLY MOUNTED ON SAID CENTRAL SHAFT AND ROTATABLY DRIVEN THEREBY, MEANS MOUNTED WITHIN SAID CENTRAL SHAFT AND EXTENSIBLE FROM THE PERIPHERY THEREOF FOR HOLDING SAID GLOBE IN AN ELEVATED POSITION ON SAID CENTRAL SHAFT, A LEVER ACCESSIBLE BY A PLAYER OF THE GAME FOR RETRACTIBLY MOVING SAID HOLDING MEANS WITHIN SAID CENTRAL SHAFT AND RELEASING SAID GLOBE TO DROP TO A LOWERMOST POSITION ALONG SAID CENTRAL SHAFT, A SERIES OF PARALLEL SHAFTS SPACED ABOUT SAID CENTRAL SHAFT, AN INDICATING MEMBER FREELY MOUNTED ON EACH PARALLEL SHAFT AND ROTATABLY DRIVEN THEREBY AT RANDOM, MEANS FOR DRIVING SAID CENTRAL AND PARALLEL SHAFTS, AND MAGNET AND KEEPER MEANS ON SAID GLOBE AND INDICATING MEMBERS IN THE SAME GENERAL PLANE WHEN SAID GLOBE IS IN A LOWERMOST POSITION ALONG SAID CENTRAL SHAFT AND BRINGING ONE OF SAID INDICATING MEMBERS TO REST UPON THE DROPPING OF SAID GLOBE AND THE STOPPING OF ROTATION THEREOF AND THEREBY DESIGNATING THE RESULTS OF A PLAY OF THE GAME. 